Glossary of Terms

Aligned belt

A Flat-Flex belt, which has had shapes, formed in each strand of the belt forming distinct rows in which a product can rest.

Architectural mesh

This is a wire conveyor belt, or mesh panel, used architecturally. This may be as external cladding to provide a decorative finish, screening or protection. It can be used internally to divide a space or provide an aesthetic feature.

Balanced spiral

(or balance weave) A woven metal belt made up by joining left hand and right hand wound spirals, retained in place by crimped cross rods.

Belt supports

(or carry ways) These may also be referred to as wear strips and provide belt support on either product carrying side or return side or both. Depending on the material used, they can greatly influence the tension in the belt.

Blank

A support disk, similar to a sprocket with no teeth.

Bottom belt

The product-carrying belt in a dual belt system, such as in a fryer. See “hold down” to describe top belt.

Carry way

See “Belt support”

Catenary sag

A belt hanging under its own weight between two (2) supports in the curved shape. This is our preferred gravity take up.

Chain edge belts

Typically used with balanced spiral belts with rods slipped through spirals across the belt width and connected to a roller chain. Handles heavy loads. Used on long conveyors.

Clean sweep

A sprocket form exclusively supplied by Wire Belt, which prevents accumulation of debris between sprocket teeth.

Cleat

See flight

Clinched edge

A type of edge featured on spiral woven and Honeycomb belts

Compound belt

A Flat-Flex belt made with one or more special strands with “flights” formed into a repeating pattern.

Counter weight

(or gravity weight) take up. A weighted roll within the belt circuit, which is used to tension the belt at a constant, level.

Cross flights

Cross flights refer to a “flight/Bar” that can support and guide the product in various ways. Such as up an incline/decline.

Crown

Flat-Flex belt, pre-stressed in a positive camber across the belt width, so when heat is applied, the belt will remain flat.

Curved conveyor

A conveyor, whose belt has the ability to turn mild corners.

Decline conveyor

A conveyor whose product exits at a lower elevation than the loading level. See also incline conveyors.

Discharge end

Unloading end of the conveyor.

DLE

Abbreviation for double loop edge. Reinforces the outside edge of the belt. Available with finer wires only. For single loop end, see SLE.

Duplex chain

This refers to a double chain edge running in unison to drive the belt.

End roll

The shaft at either end of a conveyor, but not a drive roll.

Endless

A belt supplied pre-joined to a set circuit length.

Enrober

A machine used to coat products, most commonly referring to a chocolate enrober.

Enrober belting

Flat-Flex Type belting, as used on enrobers.

Flattened wire

Flattened wire can be used in spiral woven meshes to create a stable platform with greater contact between the product and the belt, without reducing the overall open area of the belt.

Flat-Aligned

A Flat-Flex belt with a horizontal formation, in every space, to create a ‘Meat Roller’ belt.

Flex-Turn®

A conveyor, manufactured by Wire Belt, which transfers product gently and in line around corners.

Flight

A shape pre-formed into the Flat-Flex strand that typically sticks out above the mesh. Usually used to help push a product up an incline. See compound belt.

Friction drive

Friction drive describes a belt driven by a large diameter drum, utilising friction between the belt and drum surface rather than sprocket teeth

Gear

See sprocket.

Gravity weight

See counter weight.

Hertz

Is a unit of frequency, It is defined as one cycle per second (E.g 60 Hz = 60 Cycles per second).

Hold down belt

Also called “submerger belt” or “top belt”. Used in a dual belt system, this belt is used as means to hold product under a liquid such as in a fryer.

Honeycomb belt

Also called “Flat wire belt”. A conveyor belt made of flat steel strip, formed into an open mesh with heavy-duty connecting rods linking the belt together.

Idle roll

A non-driven shaft in the conveyor circuit. Often referred to as the infeed roll or discharge end roll, end roll, or a support roll.

Idler rollers

Steel or plastic pipes which spin freely on an end roll. Prevents damage to the “joints”. Commonly used as supports for belt return.

Incline conveyor

See also decline conveyors. A conveyor with discharge higher than the infeed.

The term micron and the symbol µ were officially accepted for use in isolation to denote the micrometre.

Nominal

(…of a quantity or dimension) stated or expressed but not necessarily corresponding to the exact value.

Nose bar

A type of non-rotating end roll, usually UHMW, used for minimum diameter transfer where shaft deflection would be a problem.

Peek

Poly Ether Ether Ketone.

Pin joint

Joining method for Self-Tracking Belt.

Pin roll

A drive method for balanced spiral belts.

Pitch

The dimension from the centre of one wire to the centre of the next along the length of the conveyor (measured in mm.).

Polyacetal

Ac, otherwise referred to as Acetal or POM
(or acetal) Strong, thermoplastic with low coefficient of friction. Temperature range -40°C to 65°C. Good balance of mechanical and chemical properties.

Positive drive

Positive drive describes a belt driven by sprockets, either through the belt mesh or through attached side chains.

Reinforcing plate

Reinforcing plates provide most of the pull strength of an Eye-Flex belt. They also provide a bearing surface to run on the belt supports.

Retracting conveyor

Commonly referred to as a shuttle conveyor.

Reverse bend

Same as reverse roll, or reverse shaft. The path Flat-Flex belt takes when it is flexed in the opposite direction from a normal transfer. Typically, this is a shaft used to increase the wrap around a drive or to assist the belt’s change of direction.

Reverse crown

A Flat-Flex, pre-stressed with a negative camber across the width of the belt, usually done on a “hold down” belt.

Ring spacer

This versatile variation of Eye-Flex uses rings between the wires to increase the belt gap. By increasing the belt gap, more air will circulate around the bottom of the product. Increasing the product exposure to this additional air flow improves the efficiency of your process.

SLE

Single loop edge. This is the standard Flat-Flex edge configuration.

Shuttle conveyor

These conveyors constantly push the belt and then retract to discharge/drop product in lanes. Used to spread product across wide belts from a single lane product supply.

Space

The distance between the centre of two adjacent belt joints or Z-bends in Flat-Flex belts.

Spring spacer

Springs are used in Eye-Flex belts to allow flexibility in link spacing. Springs also expose a large proportion of the connecting rod for improved cleaning and sanitizing.

Sprocket

A machined part with any number of teeth, as on the rim of a wheel, arranged to fit and engage Flat-Flex belts. They are specifically made to fit on a shaft that together with the sprocket positively drives the belt.

Submerger belt

See “hold down belt”

Supports

See “belt supports”.

Tensile

A measurement of the “pull” strength (to failure) of a material.

Tension

A measure of “pull” in a system.

Top assembly

Conveyor supplied without a leg frame.

Transfer rollers

Spool shaped rollers that turn freely on a shaft where Flat-Flex joints run in the groove.

UHMW

Ultra high molecular weight. This is a high-density polyethylene resin used in the manufacture of wear strips with excellent wear characteristics.

Under welded wire

Eye-Flex belting with under-welded wire spacing should be considered on applications where hygiene and sanitation are critical.

USDA

United States Department of Agriculture. Federal agency that regulates equipment that may be employed in meat, dairy and poultry processing.

Wear strips

Plastic or metal strips that the belt rides on to increase the useful life of the frame and prevent wear to the conveyor belting.

Welded

This refers to where two or more pieces of metal are joined together.

Welded button

A welded button that forms part of the belt edge.

Wire

Metal drawn into a very long thread or rod, usually circular in cross section.

Wrap

The amount of belt in contact with the drive sprocket; normally 180°, but could range between 120 to 220°.

Z bend

The bend in the wire, which in relation with another, defines a “space”. Looks like a “Z”. Point where the belt hinges. (Same as joint)